Will South Africa Shed their Chokers Tag This time around ??
By speedblitz
@speedblitz (215)
India
February 1, 2011 11:04pm CST
The Cricket World Cup Fever has started and all the teams are getting ready to begin their campaign in style...
When one look at the History of World cup ...Australia Has been the Undisputed champions all around ...followed by the sub continent teams (except Bangladesh)... who have won the prestigious tropy 1 time apiece...West Indies is Past glory...
That leaves us with England .. . who never looked ruthless atleast in worlcups ..except for 1992 , the Newzealanders who are generally considered a good unit but they fit into "also played" tag everytime...
That leaves us South Africa ( leaving the associates behind) ....Since their inclusion from the 1992 world cup ...This one team has fared consistently better compared to other teams ,yet they get nervous and choke in important games...
Would they turn around the tables this time ??
What's your take on this ??
1 person likes this
6 responses
@marinerpulak (1702)
• India
2 Feb 11
This time the South African team is in very good form ...they have got the boller like Styan and Morkel but the the condition of the wicket is totally different in India...So it is very unpredictable how they can perform in this wicket...But I think they have got a chance.
@speedblitz (215)
• India
2 Feb 11
Yeah ...i agree that This current SA team is good ...But the Sub continental pitch conditions would favour the spinners a lot ..except few venues ... and SA don't have a regular spinner in place...Imran Tahir is an unknown proposition .. But going by his records he seems to be a good spinner... but he has a very long way to go....
the ball would rather come a bit slow than the south african pitches , the batsmen would have time to adjust , but dale seyn and Morne morkel are a different combination altogether...
Let see how they fare...i think they have a good chance of reaching the SEMIs..
@marinerpulak (1702)
• India
2 Feb 11
I am a big supporter of team India as an Indian. I will wish for my team to perfrom the best this time. :)
@msdivkar (23359)
• India
2 Feb 11
South Africa, right from their entry into the world cup in 1992, have always been tipped as prospective winners but some how may be fate of luck, may be not made for high friction games, that cup has eluded them till to day. Going into this world cup, the South African team, to me is not the same force it used to be a couple of years back. At home they have drawn the test series with India, whom they beat hands down normally in their back yard. In O.D.I. series they barely managed to scrape past depleted Indian side with three of their star players missing from the squad, after being 2-1 down in the series at one time. For the first time I feel South Africa will go in the tournament as non favorites. May be this may change luck for them.
@speedblitz (215)
• India
3 Feb 11
Yeah ..This time they would have their pressure reduced and could concentrate much more on cricket that other immaterial things ...
But still the team is pretty vulnerable to defeats which was evident in the recently concluded IND - SA series...
Lets see !!
@stardustcdsd (1856)
• India
2 Feb 11
nice discussion.will they choke this?
i will bet my house on it if i had one.
the thing is the top order amla,smith ( except against india ),kallis,devilliers is not exactly compensated by the lower middle order.
duminy,du plesis,boucher and the tail doesn't exactly evoke confidence.
it pretty much give u the impression that if u get the top 4,u can relax for almost 10 overs.
the bowling unit is excellent.steyn is special but i am not sure how morkel performs on indian condition.he didn't bowl exactly that well last time around.a new spinner.
they mightmake the super six or whatever they call it this time.
but the chokers tag will remains after this world cup.
@speedblitz (215)
• India
3 Feb 11
Yeah ...11 out of their 15 are first time world cuppers .... but that doesn't mean that they would perform badly either...
As you said , its the middle order which should worry smith ..Anyways they are a pretty strong and cohesive unit..let's see whether they fix their tag this time :)
@srijshm (1165)
• India
5 Feb 11
Dear speedblitz,
There is no difference between this SA team & the previous ones.
South Africa has always been one of the strongest on paper, only to choke in crunch times. Current form does not seem any different to me.
IN all close games against India, It was South Africa who lost, despite being the better team. Be it the 2nd test match, 20-20 of in ODI against Munaf. They do not seem to handle pressure well. Even Smith & Amla were baffled by sreeshant's verbal abuse. This proves that they are still not yet there mentally.
@rafaelnadal007 (731)
• India
5 Feb 11
They can do it this time. They have a nice team, world class batsmen and bowlers and fine fielders. They are one of the favourites. They just have to give their 100 per cent and have to be confidence. They need to forget the terms "chockers" during the tournament and they need to be consistent throughout the tournament
@cris09 (135)
• India
3 Feb 11
They have the talent, but somehow I get the feeling that they just don't have it in them to get past the likes of the current Indian, Australian and maybe even English side. One should also consider the fact that they are playing in India, where the pitches are flat and the SA bowlers will not get the swing that they are used to.
